Plank, a former University of Maryland football player, began
developing a proprietary sweat-wicking athletic undershirt out of
his grandmother's townhouse in Georgetown in 1996.

He initially wanted to call the company Heart, as in "wearing
your heart on your sleeve," but he couldn't obtain a trademark.

His next idea was Body Armor, a name he fell in love with, he
told The Post. He applied for a trademark and prematurely told
everyone that was the name of his company. But when the clearing
process finished two weeks later, the trademark was once again
denied.

The day Plank found out, he said: "I was a bit dejected, but I
had lunch plans that afternoon with my oldest brother, Bill. So I
show up to pick him up, knock on the door, and he looks down at
me the way only an older brother can look at a younger brother,
and he asks, 'How's that company you're working on, uhh ... Under
Armor?'"

Plank still doesn't know whether his brother was messing with
him, but the name immediately clicked with him. He said he
canceled his lunch plans and went home to fill out another
trademark application. He received a trademark for Under Armour
three weeks later.

"Oh, and the reason we added the 'U' in 'Armour' is that I was
skeptical at the time about whether this whole internet thing
would stick," Plank told The Post. "So I thought the phone number
888-4ARMOUR was much more compelling than 888-44ARMOR. I wish
there was a little more science or an entire marketing study
behind it, but it was that simple."